An Act to revise membership of the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That § 34-20G-92 be AMENDED:

34-20G-92. The Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council shall appoint an oversight committee comprised of: one member of the House of Representatives, one member of the Senate, one Division of Criminal Investigation agent, one staff member from the Office of the Attorney General, two representatives of law enforcement, one representative from the department, one practitioner with experience in medical cannabis issues, one nurse, one board member or principal officer of a cannabis testing facility, one person with experience in policy development or implementation in the field of medical cannabis, and three qualifying patients consisting of:

(1) Two members of the Senate;

(2) Two members of the House of Representatives;

(3) A physician licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4;

(4) A physician assistant licensed in accordance with chapter 36-4A;

(5) A certified nurse practitioner licensed in accordance with chapter 36-9A;

(6) A pharmacist licensed in accordance with chapter 36-11;

(7) The chief of police for a municipality having a population in excess of fifty-thousand, or a representative of the police department designated by the chief;

(8) The sheriff of a county or a representative of the sheriff's office designated by the sheriff; and

(9) A professional counselor licensed in accordance with chapter 36-32 or an addiction counselor licensed in accordance with chapter 36-34.

Each appointee shall serve for a term of two years and may be reappointed.

Section 2. That chapter 34-20G be amended with a NEW SECTION:

Beginning in 2023, and every two years thereafter, the oversight committee shall select from among itself one legislator to serve as the chair and one legislator, from the opposite chamber, to serve as the vice chair.

Beginning in 2025, the legislators selected to serve as the chair and vice chair may not be from the same chamber as their immediate predecessors.

Section 3. That § 34-20G-93 be AMENDED:

34-20G-93. The oversight committee shall meet at least two times per year for the purpose of evaluating and making recommendations to the Legislature and the department regarding:

(1) The ability of qualifying patients in all areas of the state to obtain timely access to high-quality medical cannabis;

(2) The effectiveness of the dispensaries and cultivation facilities, individually and together, in serving the needs of qualifying patients, including the provision of educational and support services by dispensaries, the reasonableness of their prices, whether they are generating any complaints or security problems, and the sufficiency of the number operating to serve the state's registered qualifying patients;

(3) The effectiveness of the cannabis testing facilities, including whether a sufficient number are operating;

(4) The sufficiency of the regulatory and security safeguards contained in this chapter and adopted by the department to ensure that access to and use of cannabis cultivated is provided only to cardholders;

(5) Any recommended additions or revisions to the department regulations or this chapter, including relating to security, safe handling, labeling, and nomenclature; and

(6) Any research studies regarding health effects of medical cannabis for patients.

The oversight committee shall ensure that it seeks relevant input from qualifying patients; designated caregivers; school boards and administrators; parents; municipal representatives; state agencies, including the Department of Health, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Public Safety; and medical cannabis establishments.